Distributer for ignition-dynamos.



H. H. WIXON.

DISTRIBUTER FOR IGNITION DYNAMOS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.6. 1910.

1,123,971. Patented Jan. 5,1915.

3 BHEETSBHBET 1.

- WJIWHSEE IHVEW 1 [1w 5rd H. Wixun Mm EH W WZMMWQ LEI H. H. WIXON.-

DISTRIBUTER FOR IGNITION DYNAMOS.

APPLICATION FILED same. 1910 1,123,971. Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Will-1E 58 E5 Inv am Hm ward HB-WiXun engines for automobiles.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

I HOWARD H. WIXON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNCR TO STROMBERG-MOTOR DEVICES COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION QF-IIJLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented an. 5, 1915.

Original application filed March 4, 1910, Serial No. 547,190. Divided and this application filed September e,

- 1910. Serial No. 580,718..

citizen. of the Unitedv States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and,

useful Improvement in Distributers for Ignition-Dynamos, of which the following is a full, .clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to ignition dynamos such as are emplo ed in connection with gas It is directed toward a safety and test arrangement .for the high tension circuit and, more specifically, may be associated with distributer'mechanism employed when the ignition device is used with a multicylinder engine.

This case is divisional from my copending application, Serial No. 547,190, filed March-4, 1910, wherein a magneto ignition device is shown and described. In this type of machine, and in the system employed in connection therewith, inductively related high and low tension circuits are employed and, 1f the device 1s to be used in connection with a multi-cylinder engine, it is necessary .to. distribute the secondary impulses successively among the sparking plugs.

- The novel features of my invention lie inf-the provision of a rotatable spark ,gap in the secondary circuit in parallel with a spark plug or a plurality of spark plugs, this sparkgap constituting not'only a safety gap but at the same time performing the function of a testing gap to determine the relation of .the moment of sparking with respect tothe position of the cylinder piston.--

My invention also provides an eflicient construction as the physical embodiment of the spark gap arrangement and this and other improvements will be readily-understood from the following.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is an end elie ational View of the magneto, partsbeing broken away to show the interior construction; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 2, 2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 3 is an isolated View similar to the upper part of Fig. 1, further parts being removed to reveal the interior construction; and Fig. 4 is a diagramcfthe circuit connections.

Like reference characters are applied to the same parts throughout the various figures.

The main framework of the machine comprises the non-magnetic base portion 1, a pair of magnetic side portions 2, a non-magnetic top portion 3, and supporting end plates 4 and 5, all held together in some suitable manner, for instance by means of the screws 6, 6. The permanent magnets 7, 7 are in good magnetic contact with the side pieces 2, and, extending upwardly, embrace some of the working parts of the machine, as is usual in the art. In the particular machine herein shown, the space between the magnetic side pieces is occupied by a stationary induction winding 8 comprising the inner or primary coil 9 and the outer or secondary coil 10. Upon the outside of the winding are located the terminals which are intended to engage certain contact members, mounted at certain points on the ma,- chine, as will be described subsequently with reference to Fig. 4. Passing axially through the winding is the armature shaft 11 rotatably .supported in bearings 12 and 13. The bearing 12 is carried in the supplemental end plate 14, which is secured to the end plate 4 and to the framework of the machine, while the bearing 13 is mounted in the support 15 held in the other end plate 5. Antifriction rollers 16, 16 work in the bearings 12 and 13, as is clearly shown in the drawings. A pair of segmental polar extensions 17 and 18 are secured to the armature shaft at opposite ends of the winding. first by means of the screw threads on the armature shaft and second .by means of the set 95 screws 19, 19. The polar extensions as well as the armature shaft-at least that portion of the armature shaft which is included between the polar extensions are of magnetic material, and it will be seen. therefore, that the armature shaft constitutes a rotatable magnetic core for the stationary induction winding. The angular position of thepolar extensions 17 and 18 on the armadiametrically opposite, asindicated in Fig. 2, and in order to provide a large surface on.

4 .the faces of these polar extensions I have preferably formed the extensions with elongations-20, 20 projecting into the space between the winding and the framework. It will appear to those skilled in the art that asthe armature is rotated or oscillated the magnetic flux of the field will be periodically short-circuited through the winding, first in one direction and then in the reverse direction, and that this will set up an electromotive force in the winding by the action of the field magnet. If the primary coil is short-circuited, the current flowin 'therethrough generates lines of magnetic force which largely neutralize the existing magnetic field.that is, they force back or oppose a change of magnetism through the coil. As soon as the circuit in the primary winding is broken, the counteraction of the generated opposing fiux ceases. Owing to the change which thereby instantaneously arises in the number of lines of force passing through the secondary coil from the field magnets, the potential rises so high in the secondary coil that a spark isproduced across the contacts of the spark plug to ignite theexplosive mixture in the engine cylinder. The wire in the primary coil is comparatively coarse and comprises comparatively few turns, while the wire comprising the secondary coil is comparatively fine and comprises a comparatively large number of turns, in order that the electromotive force generated in the secondary coil may be sufficiently high to cause sparking at the spark plugs of the engine cylinder.

The armature shaft 11 has .an extension 21 to which is rigidly secured the yoke 22, having at its opposite ends a pair of rollers 23 and 24. These rollers are insulated from the yoke, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The yoke 22 constitutes the movable contact member of the interrupter, the function of which will be referred to when Fig. 4 is taken up for description, and which is shown and described in detail in my copending application, Serial No. 580.717, filed of even date'herewith. Sufiice it in this description to say that the rollers 23 and 24 coiiperate arrangement of my invention, it will be seen that, for the sake of illustration, it has been assumed that the precise embodiment of my magneto generator illustrated in the drawings is for a four-cylinder engine and,

iliary shaft carries the upper portions of the contact terminals 32.

The supporting ring 31 and the contact terminals 32 are carried by a base plate 34 of insulating material. A correspondingly shaped cover late 35, also of insulating material, is arranged to fit over the base plate 34,.as indicated in Fig. 2, to inclose' the plates and thereby protect them from liability to injury. Screws 36, passing through openings 37 in the base and coverplates, secure what may be termed the stationary part of the distributer to the end plate 5. Within the cylindrical space 38, formed by the ring 31, moves the annular member 39 of insulating'material. A glass or mica plate 40 carried by the cover 35 is provided in front of the cylindrical space 38. The member .39 has fixedly mounted gaging surface 42, forming part of the periphery 43 of the annular-member 39, as best'shown in Fig. 3. At its inner end the metallic arm 41 is in electrical contact with the extension 44 of the shaft 45. It is to this extension 44 that the annular member 39 is suitably secured, as by screw-threaded engagement. fixed upon the member 39 by having its shank portion 47 inserted in and opening in the annular member, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The front portion of the bushing 46 serves to cover up the arm 41. This bushing carries the spark electrode 48, whose shank portion 49 has electric contact with the metal disk 50 which is preferably fixed to the insulating member 39. The projection 51 on the extension 44- coiiperates with the electrode 48 to form a spark gap. 1. will subsequently explain how this spark gap forms acombined safety and testing spark gap. The shaft 45 is in reality a part An insulating bushing 46 .is'

thereon the metallic arm 41, which termi nates at its outer'end in an arc-shaped enofthe auxiliary shaft 52, mounted in bearings 53 and 54, set in the-end plates 4 and ing provided in each instance. This auxgear 56, incase'd between the end plate 4 an the supplementary end plate 14, and this gear meshes with the pinion 57 secured upon the main shaft 11, the gear ratio being such that the pinion 57 makes two revolutions to every revolution of the gear 56. The part 45 is insulated fromthelmain portion of the auxiliary shaft 52 by means of the insulating portion 58, but is connected with one of the terminals of the secondary winding by means of the the current should fail to spring-pressed buttons 59 and 60, the spring 61, the contact ring 62, and the pin 63. It

is to be noted in this connection that the otherwise insulated electrode 48 is rounded to the machine by means of the disk 50 and the shell 64 which forms part of the shaft and which is associated directly with the bearing. It is now apparent that when the arm 41 isin contact with any one of the four spring contacts 27, 28, 29 and 30, the spark gap will be in parallel with the contacts of the connected spark plug.

The various parts which have been described more or less broadly, as well as those which have been described in detail, are all so interconnected and insulated and so associated with the windings 9 and 10 that the circuit arrangement of Fig. 4 may be maintained. Referring to this figure, it will be seen that the primary winding 9 is connected between ground G and the movable contacts of the interrupter, while the stationary contacts of the interrupter are connected back to ground. It will also be noted that a condenser 65, conveniently located over the part 3 within the horseshoe magnets (Fig. 2), is connected in parallel with the interrupteiy the object of this being, as is well known in the art, to prevent as much as possible the sparking at the electrodes which interrupt the primary circuit and also to increase the voltage in the secondary circuit by accelerating the flux "ariaticnsthrough the induction winding. It will also be noted that the secondary winding is connected between ground and the movable member of the distributer, while the staticnary contacts of the distributer are connected through the spark plugs back to ground. I i

I have previously stated that the electrodes 48 and 51 constitute a combined safety and testing gap. How they constitute a safety gap is apparent from the fact that these electrodi are in parallel with the spark plugs, so that if for any reason leap across the electrodes of the spark plug which the distributer has connected in the circuit of the secondary winding, the secondary current surging through the secondary circuit under high pressure would leap across the spark gap formed by the terminals 48 and 51, thus discharging the secondary circuit to ground safety. Otherwise, there would be danger of the secondary voltage driving the current through the insulation of the induction winding.

The testing feature of the spark gap formed by the electrodes 48 and 51 is brought about by the fact that the spark gap rotates in unison with the distributer arm and in alinement therewith, so that by disconnecting a-cylinder spark plug from the distributer and operating the magneto,

the position of the spark that will pass across the electrodes 48 and 51 will 1I1d1- oate at what position of the engine piston the moment of sparking is occurring. If

stationary contacts adapted to be connected to the sparking electrodes of the engine cylinders, a rotatable contact member for successively closing the circuit through said stationary contacts, and a pair of auxiliary contacts moving in unison with said mem her to provide a safety and testing gap, one of said auxiliary contacts being electrically connected with said current member while the other auxiliary contact is insulated therefrom, the gap between said auxiliary contacts being adapted. to be connected in parallel with said sparking electrodes.

2-. A distributer for magneto generators comprising, in combination, a plurality of stationary contacts adapted to be connected to sparking electrodes of the engine cylinders, a rotatable contact member for successively closing the vcircuit through said stationary contacts, an insulating disk for supporting said member, and a pair of auxiliary contacts mounted on said disk in radial alinement with said contact member to provide a safety and testing gap rotatable with the contact member, said safety and testing gap being adapted to be connected in parallel with or in substitution of one of the sparking gaps.

3. In combination, a source of alternating current, means for interrupting said 'current, a plurality of contacts, jump spark carried by said metallic part for engagement with said contact, an electrode carried by said metallic part, and an associated electrode carried-with but insulated from said metallic part, said last-named electrode being associated with said first-named electrode to form a spark gap and being grounded.

5. A magneto generator for ignition purmy name this 3rd :day of September A. D. poses provided with a pair of rotatable con- 1910. tacts to form a testing gap in combination with a sparking circuit having a fixed spark 5 gap in parallel with said rotatable spark- Witnesses: I

ing gap. ARTHUR H. BQETICHER,

" HOWARD H. WIXON.

' In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe 1 LEONARD E. Boone. 

